Child to adult continuities of psychopathology: A 24-year follow-up

Objective: To determine continuities of mental health problems of children across a 24-year follow-up period. Method: In 1983, parent ratings of emotional and behavioral problems were collected with the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) in a general population sample of 2076 children. Twenty-four years later, 1365 participants completed Adult Self-Reports (ASR) to assess emotional and behavioral problems. Results: Of the participants who were classified as deviant in childhood, 22.2% were also classified as deviant in adulthood. Both homotypic and heterotypic continuity was found. Childhood aggressive, delinquent, and anxious\depressed problems were associated with most adult psychopathology. Attention problems did not predict later problems independently. Conclusion: Even though assessed with parent-reports in childhood and analogous self-reports in adulthood, and over a large period of 24 years, continuity of psychopathology was found from childhood into adulthood. Anxious\depressed problems, delinquent behavior and aggressive behavior in childhood are core predictors for adult psychopathology.

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